Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pepsi Joins Effort to Make TB Medication Sweeter And Easier To Swallow For Kids
The New York Times: Can A Spoonful From Pepsi Help The Medicine Go Down?
PepsiCo is using its expertise to help make medication more palatable for children. The giant food and beverage company, whose original soda was concocted by a pharmacist using sugar, lemon oil and nutmeg, is returning to its roots by deploying its vast research and development operation to improve the taste of tuberculosis drugs. (Strom, 10/27)
Boston Globe: Biotech Stocks Down On Worries That A Sweep By Democrats Would Bring More Regulation
Political jitters have fueled a sell-off in biotechnology shares in recent weeks as investors weigh the growing prospects of a Democratic sweep in the coming election that could bring heavier regulation for the industry, including restrictions on prescription drug prices. In a note to investors this week, biotech analyst Geoffrey C. Porges estimated that escalating market fears over the prospect of Democrats controlling Congress and the White House has shaved about $50 billion off the value of biotech companies since Oct. 7. That’s when a video was made public that showed Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump in 2005 using graphic language to boast about groping women. (Weisman, 10/27)
The Washington Post: In A First, U.S. Trial To Test Cuban Lung-Cancer Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first clinical trial to test a Cuban drug in the United States — a lung-cancer vaccine developed in Havana. The decision on the early-stage trial was announced Wednesday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and officials at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, based in Buffalo. The trial could start as soon as next month and will enroll 60 to 90 patients. It is likely to take three years to complete. (McGinley, 10/27)
The Wall Street Journal: AstraZeneca Suspends Recruitment In Clinical Trials On Head And Neck Cancer
AstraZeneca PLC said it had suspended enrollment into two large clinical trials on head and neck cancer while it investigates whether the treatment is causing patients to bleed. Cambridge, U.K.-based AstraZeneca said it had observed bleeding in some patients as part of routine safety monitoring of the two trials and had paused recruitment to analyze those incidents. (Roland, 10/27)
